New York – While department store operators finished July lagging comparative-store sales goals, discounters ramped up comps each week and finished well ahead – resulting in an overall on-target retail month, the Johnson Redbook reported today.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 3.5% in the fourth and final week of July, resulting in a 2.9% comp gain for the month. The comp gain by discounters was a sturdy 5.3% rise – while department store comps fell 1.1%.

July comps were 1.4% above June, also on goal.

“Closing out the month and the second quarter, some retailers reported a firmer tone in sales toward the weekend, especially in apparel and school-related purchases, which they attributed to the beginning of back-to-school demand and shoppers taking advantage of sales tax breaks which some states had in effect since Friday,” said Redbook analyst Catlin Levis.

“Merchants reported that the tax-free holidays drew more store traffic than on a normal weekend in states including: Alabama, District of Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia,” Levis noted.

August is a four-week retail month ending Aug. 30. “Our preliminary target for August is for 2.8% same-store growth, leaving the month about 0.6% behind July,” Levis said.